National Concert Hall
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The National Concert Hall (NCH) (Irish: An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a concert hall which actually consists of three venues. It is located on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin, Ireland, close to St. Stephen's Green.It is the principal venue in the Republic of Ireland for classical music concerts.
Originally it was built for the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865 and converted into the central building of University College Dublin (UCD) at the foundation of the National University of Ireland in 1908. When UCD began to relocate to a new campus at Belfield in the 1960s, the building was converted and reopened as the NCH in 1981. Since then, the site of the NCH has been shared with UCD. In 2006 the Hall celebrated its 25th anniversary with a number of gala concerts and events.
Although its facade is quite impressive, the venue's acoustics have been criticized[citation needed]. It is also unsuitable for large-scale opera stagings.[citation needed] Consequently, calls for a purpose-built venue are made from time to time. In 2005 it was announced that UCD is to relocate all of its faculties to Belfield in the short term, allowing the NCH to develop a major expansion plan on the entire site, bringing it in line with its peers in Europe and the rest of the world.
Today, it one of Ireland's National Cultural Institutions, under the aegis of the Irish Government's Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and, as such, is grant-aided by the Irish Government.
Due to its central location, lunchtime concerts and recitals are common and attended by many workers from nearby office buildings. In summer, outdoor recitals are given in the adjacent Iveagh Gardens.
[edit] Performance and other facilities
- Main Auditorium, seating 1200, is used for large scale concerts and some operas.
The Hall was converted from use as an examination hall when the building was the headquarters of UCD. There is a magnificent concert organ set as a background to the stage, which was designed to complement the surrounding architecture of the Hall. It was installed in 1991 in time for the 10th anniversary of the NCH's opening. The stage area is considered small, making large opera performances impossible at the NCH. Therefore, they usually have to be accommodated in one of the city's other venues like The Point Theatre or "the theatre" in The Helix (which by contrast has one of the largest stages in Ireland).
- John Field Room, seating 250, is used for small scale recitals and as an exhibition space.
- Carolan Room, seating 100, is used mainly for receptions and corporate functions.
In 2002 The Helix (which is located on the campus of Dublin City University) was opened as a rival performance space in Dublin. The main auditorium, the Mahony Hall, is a purpose built 1,260 seater concert hall and its acoustics are said to be superior to those of the National Concert Hall.
There are plans, soon to be carried out, which involve revamping the existing Auditorium, building a larger newer one and another small auditorium. This comes after the UCD section was bought from the college to enlarge the Concert Hall.
The resident orchestra is the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- National Concert Hall is at coordinates Coordinates:
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